The fact that smoking tobacco cigarettes can have disastrous effects on an individual's health is not new information. Although there are fewer people participating in this activity than fifty years ago, there are still approximately one billion people worldwide who smoke cigarettes, five million of whom die from tobacco-related diseases. Medically, we all agree that cigarettes are dangerous to the smoker's health, but since tobacco products have yet to be outlawed, smoking remains a legal act permitted at the smoker's discretion. However, since the use of cigarettes is often permitted in public places frequented by everyone, both smokers and non-smokers, this issue has become a cause of public concern, so much so that many countries have begun to establish smoking bans in public areas. This mini-crisis has sparked a universal debate whose main question is: should smoking be banned in all public places? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Smokers have the right to do what they want with their bodies; if they are fully aware of the risks, as many are, and choose to smoke cigarettes anyway, it is a personal problem that they may or may not choose to address. It is not up to the government or any other group to decide whether a person should smoke or not. Be that as it may, smoking in publicly accessible areas has become a nuisance, the address of which creates a lot of friction. Yes, smokers have the right to smoke, but why are the rights of non-smokers violated in this process? People who don't use cigarettes also deserve a clean, healthy environment, free from the pollutants produced by billowing clouds of cigarette smoke. Non-smokers are often subjected to secondhand smoke against their will when others use tobacco products in public areas such as parks, in front of public buildings, or even while walking down the street on a daily basis. Of the 480,000 deaths due to cigarette smoking in the United States alone, more than 41,000 are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. It would be one thing if smoking only physically affected participants' health, such as people who eat fast food or drink alcohol excessively, but the reality is that smoking in public places impacts everyone and most have no choice about it. What's worse is that the effects are indiscriminate whether the person intentionally took a puff of a cigarette or simply breathed in someone else's smoke. Containing more than 7,000 toxic chemicals, secondhand smoke can still lead to cancer and a wide range of other health problems, all potentially fatal. Many interest groups for public smoking bans are also extremely concerned about the well-being of the common environment. Not only is the air in and around these public places compromised, but so is the cleanliness of the area. The smoking population is known for the waste and smell left by cigarette butts abandoned on the ground; the environment has become an improvised ashtray strewn with tobacco. According to the American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation, cigarette butts are the most commonly thrown waste around the world and, being made of non-biodegradable materials, this waste is both unsightly and unhealthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly known as The CDC is a major advocate of smoking control and banning smoking in public places for a variety of reasons. The organization is adamant about changing the report.